MobInteract

MobInteract

English | [简体中文](README.zh-CN.md)

Gives humanoid mobs the ability to mine blocks, build their own path (stairs / pillar up / bridge) toward targets they could never reach, and pick up blocks and pickaxes off the ground.

Once installed, the zombie, skeleton or vindicator that used to stand behind a fence, stare across a ravine, or pace under a player on a pillar will take matters into its own hands: break the blocking block, pull cobblestone out of its carried stock, stack a step up, bridge across, and grab pickaxes and blocks lying around.

Ability · What it does · Requirement
Mining · Breaks the block in its way, the block above its head, or the block under its feet / under its target · A pickaxe in the main hand, a mineable block, within reach
Building · Takes blocks from its virtual stock to build stairs / pillar up / bridge / step down · Was given a stock at spawn, charges left, has a target
Pickup · Walks to dropped items: blocks go into the stock, pickaxes into the main hand · On by default

This is not a general-purpose mob AI and it does not replace vanilla pathfinding: it only adds two higher-priority behaviours on top, so vanilla targeting, jumping and detouring still work as usual. Villagers, wandering traders and other friendly mobs are not taken over by default.

Compatibility

Item · Details
Server · Paper / Purpur / Canvas / Folia, 1.21.8 – 26.x
One jar for all · Built against the oldest supported version; newer servers accept the older api-version, the reverse is not true — hence a single jar for 1.21.8 and 26.x alike
Minimum version · 1.21.8 (older servers lack the pathfinding / scheduling capabilities this plugin relies on)
Soft dependency · BlockLocker (if present, protected chests, doors and trapdoors are skipped automatically; not required)
Not required · Client mods, resource packs, extra dependencies

Download and install

1. Grab the latest MobInteract-x.y.z.jar from Releases.
2. Drop it into your server's plugins/ folder and restart.
3. On first start it creates five configuration files in plugins/MobInteract/: mining.yml, placement.yml, equip.yml, targeting.yml, message.yml — all with comments.
4. In game, run /mobinteract status for a configuration summary, then aim at a zombie and run /mobinteract inspect to see what it is currently thinking.

To upgrade, just replace the jar and restart — your configuration files are never overwritten, and values you edited in an older version win. See Installation, Upgrade and Removal for the details.

Commands

The command is /mobinteract, alias /mi, permission node mobinteract.admin (OP only by default).

Command · Purpose
/mobinteract status · Configuration summary: mob / world filters, mining parameters, build limits, equipment chance, known mobs, temporary blocks, protection-plugin status
/mobinteract inspect · Live state of the mob you are looking at: cooldown, placements used in this chase, pickaxe in hand, stock contents, last action (the first thing to check when a mob "just won't move")
/mobinteract reload · Hot-reloads every configuration file without interrupting an ongoing mining or building action

Configuration at a glance

Five files, one job each; run /mobinteract reload and the change takes effect immediately:

File · What it controls
mining.yml · Mining: which blocks are mineable, how slow, how far, which are excluded
placement.yml · Building and pickup: what gets placed, how often, how long blocks last, what the stock contains, what gets picked up
equip.yml · The spawn-equipment gate: what fraction of mobs are born with a pickaxe / with a stock
targeting.yml · Player targeting: switch to the nearest player when one is around
message.yml · Every message sent to players: colours, wording, multiple lines

Every key, default value and tuning advice lives in the wiki, one page per topic:

Wiki page · Contents
Installation, Upgrade and Removal · Where to put the jar, how to verify it works, upgrading, what the plugin cleans up on removal
Mining · The five trigger rules, reach, break-time formula and conversion table, tools and pickaxes, every mining.yml key
Building Paths · When it builds, how it chooses stairs / pillar / bridge, the anti-spam rules, placement.* and entry format
Block Backpack and Item Pickup · How the stock is rolled, how counts are split, what is picked up and what is not
Birth Equipment, Messages and Player Targeting · Nested equip.yml probabilities, message.yml placeholders, targeting.yml
Commands, Permissions and Behaviour Overview · Command details, mob / world filters, Folia notes, BlockLocker coexistence
FAQ and Known Limitations · How to debug "it won't move / mine / build / pick up", plus the "looks broken but isn't" cases
Changelog · What changed in each version and which setting to touch when upgrading

Common misunderstandings

• "Why isn't it mining?" — No pickaxe in hand (one is required by default), the block is on the safety blacklist (bedrock, barriers, block entities…), or it is simply out of reach.
• "Why is it just standing there?" — No stock, placements used up, still cooling down, or filtered out by the world / mob allow- and deny-lists; /mobinteract inspect tells you which.
• "Why is the bridge still there / gone already?" — Placed blocks vanish after 15 seconds by default; a mob standing on top re-arms the timer. Set it to 0 to keep them forever.
• "Why doesn't it chase me?" — Vanilla pathfinding will not dig through a wall it cannot see you behind, unless you enable "mine the block in front" or it is actively chasing (targeting.yml can make it fixate on a nearby player).
• "Why do villagers do nothing?" — Friendly mobs are not taken over by default; that is a feature, not a bug.

More troubleshooting in FAQ and Known Limitations.

License

[Apache License 2.0](LICENSE) © 2026 LiuyeStudio · Author @nukebean

Free to use, modify and redistribute, including commercially, as long as the copyright and license notice are kept.